David Walsh’s golden run continued at Riccarton on Saturday when he collected a winning double at his home track courtesy of in-form runners Zelia and Toa Haka, and now he has his sights on black-type targets.
The former champion jockey returned to the training ranks this season and he has now won four and placed in five of his 12 starts since his comeback, with the pair adding two wins apiece to his tally.
Zelia winning the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series – Noms Close 31 March (1000m) at Riccarton Park on Saturday. Photo: Race Images South
Juvenile filly Zelia has shown a lot of promise for Walsh this season and continued her upward trajectory when taking out the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series – Noms Close 31 March (1000m) by a convincing 5-1/2 lengths, with Walsh believing the addition of blinkers were a great assist.
“She just keeps improving and keeps putting her head in the feed bin,” he said. “Each time she has a day out she just gets better.
“I always thought the blinkers would help her a lot after giving her a gallop in them in track work one day. You just have to wait for the right time (to use them) because they have got to be really ready to go when you use them.
“She had two runs back from a spell, she had a trial at Ashburton 10 days before, so she was fit and ready to go, so it was a great time to put them (blinkers) on. It worked and she was too good for them.
“The fact it was a Pearl Series race as well was great, basically being worth double the stake money.”
While Walsh believes Zelia is suited to better footing, he is pressing on with the daughter of Fierce Impact for at least one more run in a bid to gain black-type in next month’s Listed Riccarton Park Function Centre Welcome Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton.
“The track is nowhere near as firm as she would like. She will go a lot better on dry ground. She seemed to skip through it (Soft7) pretty good, but she was able to pick her line and go where she wanted,” Walsh said.
“She is going to race on the 12th (of April) at Riccarton in a 1000m Listed two-year-old race, so while she is up and in-form she might as well have a crack at that.
“She came through the race well, she looked beautiful yesterday, you wouldn’t have even thought she had been anywhere.
“There is one more race that she can start in (after the Welcome Stakes), but by then she has probably done enough, so will more likely head to the spelling paddock after her next start and have a month off and then start thinking about the spring time.”
